NM State Aggies vs Abilene Christian Wildcats Soccer 8-23-19

I’m back at the pitch for another season.  How did this happen?  We didn’t exactly part under good circumstances last year (10-27-18).  I almost went to all of their home games, only some cross-scheduling with volleyball caused me to miss half of a match.  A few times I took off a couple of hours of work to see Friday afternoon matches, but this year I’m just taking off the whole day.  It’s less stressful until I get back and have to make up the work.    

Last season didn’t go well to the tune of a 2-16 record.  Your top goal-scorer, lovely and charming Aileen Galicia, had four and those were all in the first half of the season, and she’s also graduated.  Alexa Barrera had two and those came in the first half of the final game, which wasn’t a win.  Goals allowed were also an issue, 43 to 16 Aggie total team goals.  I heard a couple of interviews with Coach Rob Baarts.  He was hoping to strengthen the defensive back line (seems like a good idea), while coordinating attacks better (rather than just Aileen charging downfield with the ball by herself). 

The Coach was also hoping for more speed with some new freshman recruits and better team conditioning overall.  He also brought in a transfer, Shea O’Connor, from Oregon State.  He felt she’d definitely help the Aggies’ attack.  Even better, the sexy was coming back into goal.  Dmitri Fong is over her injuries and would be starting.  In her interview on the team Twitter, she really came off as an impressive young woman, role-model material (and the good looks don’t hurt).    

Ron picked me up for the game and our first stop was the Pan-Am ticket office.  Once again, I’m invested in Aggie Sports for $140.  The Aggie Country Pass price, for everything except Football and Men’s Basketball, didn’t go up from last year.  Assuming I go to a bunch of games this school year, this pass will payoff.  Ron bought one too.  I think his future is a bit more up in the air than mine (like anyone knows the future), but he wants to come out to the games anyway. 

Ron did express some reservations a couple of days later.  If his caretaking job suddenly ends, his next option is cross-country truck driving.  We had some catching up to do, since we hadn’t gotten together this summer.  I’d invited him out for a dinner and a couple of movies, but he’s been working a whole bunch of hours and hasn’t taken much time off. 

There was a parking lot tailgate ending as we pulled into the soccer complex.  The courtesy table featured a new poster (as shown above) and an awesome team picture (that I’ll post for the next match).  Over at the stands, I reconnected with fellow fan and font of Aggie Sports information, Danny.  Honestly, it was terrible talking to him, because he had some bad news about Aggie Softball.  Not only had Kayla Green left before the end of the season under a cloud, and Kelsey Horton had finished her epic career, it gets worse.  Ace pitcher Samaria Diaz graduated early and left for Oregon as a transfer.  Freshman of the year Mya Felder has also left.  She was the heir apparent to Kelsey, so that really smarts.  I don’t envy Coach Rodolph trying to fill all these slots in the offseason.

There were storm clouds in the area all around.  This was making me apprehensive about the game.  Worse, the clouds were not actually covering the field.  This meant a fierce sun was beating down on everyone involved in the event.  My first mistake was not bringing an umbrella.  My second was not wearing a hat (going hatless will not make your head any cooler in the sun).  Third, I knocked over my courtesy water during the Anthem.  Fourth, I also dropped my pencil under the stands as an encore.  A bit later, Ron got up for a bit and brought me a bottle of water and had retrieved the pencil with the aid of a spry six-year-old.  God bless him. 

The grandstand was filled.  This was an encouraging sight, at first.  During player introductions, it suddenly became obvious that maybe half the crowd were Wildcat fans.  They travel well.  There was also an announcement that fans were not allowed on the field during the match, including sitting at the foot of the stands.  This seemed unnecessary since only Aggie Sports players (especially baseball and volleyball) ever sat there.  I think supporting players were now housed in a small pavilion on the north end of the field. 

Here may be the theme of this soccer season for me: It’s not the same without Aileen.  Sigh.  That hit me immediately after the match started.  I got over it eventually, but not completely.  I don’t know if anyone outside of Dmitri is going to endear themselves to me like Aileen did.  If I’m talking about Dmitri all the time in a recap, that’s a bad thing, because that means the other team is making a bunch of shots on goal.   

First Half

Without question, the luckiest break of the match for everyone occurred right after it started.  A bunch of clouds moved over the sun and cooled everything off.  The second luckiest break was that it didn’t rain during the match.  It stormed like heck later, but didn’t interfere with the proceedings.  I broke in a new little notepad from work.  It was gift that management handed out to everyone and came with a nice pen.  It worked out pretty well here in the field.  

On to the match.  The Aggies pressed the attack to start the match, but at 38’ left in the half, Dmitri made the first stop on a weak roller on the Aggie goal.  Unfortunately from here, Abilene Christian (hereafter referred to as AC) kept pressing.  32’ there was a high shot over the Aggie goal.  25’ there was a trip in the Aggie box which resulted in penalty kick.  There was something like a timeout before the shot, where Dmitri went over and talked to the coach.  (But there aren’t timeouts in soccer???)  As you’d expect, the PK resulted in a goal.  1-0 AC.  The Wildcat fans had special scoring cheer, which they used here.

Oh, I guess should have identified the goal-scorer at the time (Michelle Mulrooney), but I forgot I was supposed to do that.  I guess I’m out of practice.  The new PA might have identified her, but she was drown out by the cheering.  And also I didn’t see who committed the foul, but that’s pretty normal for me on plays at the nets, especially when there are several players involved.  I have quite a bit of respect for the people who do the official scoring for soccer matches. 

20’ Hannah Leitner made a solo attack downfield.  Where is everybody on offense?  Even Dmitri seemed quiet, instead her usual vocal encouragement and instructions.  (Although maybe crowd noise might have prevented me from hearing her if she was.)  17’ AC made three good passes going into the Aggie box, which resulted in Dmitri being caught in a one-on-one for a fairly easy goal.  2-0 AC.  And I still hadn’t remembered to this point to note opposing goalscorers (Christina Arteaga).

There was another timeout?  It might have been a hydration break since it was pretty hot out, even with the cloud cover.  Immediately out of the break, Dmitri had to make a save on a header.  A few minutes later, she made a punch out after a corner kick.  The crowd began a spontaneous “Let’s go Aggies!” cheer to encourage the team.  10’ Hannah made another solo attack after a long pass.  Both teams began mass substitutions.  At some point, I was surprised by the number of subs.  It seemed like a lot more than I normally see at a college match.  Has there been a rules change?  Is soccer taking my advice that they should be more like hockey?

8’ Shea made a great, strong left-footed kick from outside the AC box.  The goalie stopped it, but that was the first Aggie shot on goal for the season.  5’ AC back on the attack after a corner.  Dmitri punched it out again.  2’ Dmitri tipped out a high shot.  Emma Smith brought the ball back downfield and displayed some good footwork, but that was it for the half.        

  

Halftime

I missed the fan contest at the half to go to the bathroom.  It was over pretty quick, whatever it was.  However, I had my personal highlight of the match walking back to the stands as I ran into adorable Brigette Lowe from the volleyball team.  I couldn’t resist saying “Hi,” to her.  I told her I thought she was cute in her interview video on the team Twitter.  (It’s true.  She looked so happy because two-a-day practices were over.)  I also said I’d be there tomorrow for the Crimson and White Scrimmage.  Brigette was all smiles (as she often is) and graciously invited me to come down and talk to all the players after the match.  What a sweetheart.  Ron didn’t seem to believe my story when I returned to my seat.     

Second Half

By this point, an Aggie Football Fan Fest had started next door.  This was lousy scheduling, as I would have liked to have gone if it’d been after the game.  Some of the Aggie soccer crowd left, perhaps to go to it.  I was hearing the man himself, Jack Nixon, doing some announcing for the event.  Obviously, all of the AC fans stayed.      

43’ right out of the half, Emma found Shea in the box, who chipped a shot right over the AC goalie.  Gooooooooal!  It was a great kick.  The Aggies do well on those set pieces when they get the opportunity to run them.  2-1 AC. 

38’ AC was back on the attack.  Dmitri made a catch in the middle of a scrum.  35’ we got our first, “Shoot it!” from the crowd.  I knew something other than Aileen was missing from the game.  This outburst did come from an AC fan.  31’ the rather striking Lece Aviles played some tenacious defense to get a turnover.  27’ another AC corner.  There were several kicks around the net, but the ball was eventually kicked out of the Aggie box.

26’ defender Kelly Burton elbowed an AC girl into the ground.  There was no call.  I usually make notes on the good hits out on the pitch.  24’ AC goal.  It was a roller from outside the box into a corner by Shay Johnson.  This time I wrote down the scorer when it happened.  3-1 AC.  22’ Shea went to the ground on a dirty-looking ankle hook.  This resulted in a top shelf goal attempt by AC.

20’ the Aggies managed to get off a weak shot.  17’ AC had two consecutive corners.  15’ Kyleigh Cox took a long shot on the AC goal.  13’ Shea took a wide shot on net.  As it began to feel like Aggie loss today, I started watching Shea on the field.  She carries herself differently than the other players.  I’m not sure how to quantify it.  More confidence maybe, since she comes from a bigger college and conference?  I hope she can rub that confidence off on the rest of the team. 

6’ there was a serious running flying tackle on field.  It happened on the other side of the field, so I didn’t see who was involved.  Everyone was okay, but an AC player got a yellow card for it.  3’ an AC free kick on a foul just outside the Aggie box.  An Aggie defender almost redirected the ball into the net.  1’ another AC corner.  It looked like Dmitri got kicked herself, but she did catch the ball.  3-1 Abilene Christian was the final.

I don’t want to analyze this, because this game felt like a continuation of last year.  The Aggie offense was just too disorganized during the game.  I was encouraged by Shea O’Connor.  She had both of the Aggies’ shots on goal.  But, she isn’t a streak toward the goal and take a shot by yourself type like the rest of the Aggie offense.  Shea needs to be set up or have an open player to pass to in the box.  Lack of offense produces a stressed defense.  I think Dmitri Fong is still shaking off rust in her first game back.  The two goals other than the PK felt stoppable, but that’s maybe because I have so much confidence in her.  She did well otherwise.  In any case, pepper a goalie with enough shots, like today, something is going to get through.   

After the match, both teams came together and made a large circle.  It was a nice moment.  Both teams then came to the stands and waved to the crowd.  On the way out, we noticed Athletics Director Mario Moccia was there.  He’d been at the game since at least halftime.  I’m a bit surprised he wasn’t at the Football event.  In the parking lot, the tailgate grills seemed to be starting up again.  Ron and I drove by the football stadium.  I’d wanted to stop, but the Fan Fest seemed to be letting out already.  Oh, well. 

For dinner, after some waffling on my part, we tried out the new Dominos across from the Pan-Am Center.  They had a bunch of bright, cheery flags out announcing their opening.  Yes, this used to the Schlotzsky’s, which I loved so much (and especially their ice cream).  That restaurant took the place of the Dairy Queen that I also loved (especially their Blizzards).  It’s a downward spiral.  Worse, this Dominos took the place of the one that I used to occasionally walk to down the street, so now I don’t have a pizza place within walking distance from my apartment.

Ron was okay with their pizza, but the only use I have for Dominos is their Chicken Bacon Ranch sub sandwich.  They bake them in their ovens, so you’re better off calling ahead, which we didn’t do.  The good news about the new location is that they’re now a sit-down restaurant, if you want to eat there.  It was a ten-minute wait for the food and then another five minutes waiting for the sandwiches to cool off.  I’d called this sandwich, “The best sub in town.”  I was a bit nervous for the credibility of my food reviewing abilities, but after Ron’s first bite, his eyes lit up, “Dude!  That is good!”  Reputation upheld.  They don’t serve chips and breadsticks seemed like a bad choice for a sandwich, so we had no sides, but the main course was good enough.

Afterward, we had ice cream at PQ Treats, which was okay, and we chatted some more.  Well, it wasn’t exactly a successful sports outing on some levels, but it was okay.  It was a day off from work for the both of us at least.  So, one Aggie Sports recap for Fall 2019/Spring 2020 down and hopefully whole bunch more to go.      

Baseball Journal August 2019 Part 2

8-7-19

I lost access to listening to the Richmond Flying Squirrels (and other stations) at work sometime in July.  My last game with them was a no-hit bid against them.  I’ve not had much experience with no-hitters, but this was the first time I’d heard the broadcast of a team on the wrong end of one.  I was getting tickled as the Squirrels’ broadcasters kept mentioning the no-hitter, trying to jinx it.  I’m not saying that worked, but it was broken up in the ninth.  I was reminded of this incident while listening to an afternoon Rangers game today.  Ariel Jurado had a no-hitter going into the middle innings.  Eric Nadel dutifully gave the no-hit line score and then immediately said, “Shh,” trying not to talk about it.

Meanwhile, to finish off last week’s eastern games, Yadier Molina hit a home run for the Memphis Redbirds against the Chihuahuas.  He’d only had been bunting in games up to that point and hadn’t been cleared swing away until the last game of the series.  The pups fielders were not expecting those bunts.  Molina got sent to the Double-A Springfield Cardinals afterward.  I wonder if my Aunt Judy went out to see her favorite player while he was in town?   

Today, the Chihuahuas had their first home game after their long road trip.  This was also their first game at home after the Wal-Mart shooting in town, which I’m not discussing here.  The team was wearing their black away jerseys with El Paso on them and their EP caps.  The Padres would wear and sign some EP caps for a charity auction the next day.

For the game, the pups scored 12 runs.  They hit four home runs (Aderlin Rodriguez hit two).  They’re only five away from the PCL record.  (The Twins briefly passed the Chihuahuas for home run lead, but took it back with this game.)  Ty France finished the game going 4 for 5 with a .399 average!  He was .400 when he 4 for 4 earlier in the game.  The Chihuahuas also lost today 20-12 to Round Rock.  Alex de Goti hit for the cycle, as the Express scored in every inning, which is a feat rarer than a no-hitter.  With this horrific loss, the Chihuahuas also finally lost first place to Las Vegas in the division.

8-9-19

I don’t think you could blame me for not listening to tonight’s Chihuahuas game.  After that terrible Wednesday loss (as mentioned above), they then lost last night, 12-11 to Round Rock.  The Chihuahuas were getting beat badly, but managed claw back into it until they rallied in the ninth inning.  They were down to their final strike two or three times over the course of scoring two and nearly tying it.

For tonight’s game, Round Rock scored four in the first.  I started listening to the Brewers versus the Rangers on MLB.TV.  While I’m a big fan of the Rangers’ broadcasters, I couldn’t resist getting to hear Bob Uecker’s Brewers’ radio call.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear too much of it with various work distractions.  He did have an interesting chat with his partner about travelling via trains to back-in-the-day to get to games.  It wasn’t a bad way to go, especially given that teams travel by bus and station wagons in the minor leagues.  I didn’t know that Sunday games used to always used be scheduled double headers.   

I made occasional checks of the El Paso game, pretty much fearing the worst.  It was 8-1 early when I checked the first time.  I think El Paso’s “fan pitching experiment,” while amusing, probably needs to come to an end.  They should start using Triple-A pitchers again.  I tentatively only looked at the score a couple more times.

Suddenly in the ninth, I noticed the score was 12-11 with the Chihuahuas only a run behind and the game was still in progress.  I immediately brought the radio call back up.  The first thing I heard was Tim Hagerty screaming, “Walk-off grand slam home run!”  Oh my, goodness.  I don’t think I’d ever heard him so excited.  The Chihuahuas won 15-12.  They scored 10 runs in the bottom of the ninth, a team record.

Having not listened to the game, I had to get the details in the game recap that followed.  It was 12-5 going into the ninth.  Ty France, the pups’ best hitter, had been taken out halfway through the game to give him a rest.  Matthew Batten, a position player, had pitched the top of the ninth.  He got the win.  Our walk-off hero was Esteban Quiroz, who was pinch hitting.  Even more, that home run set the new PCL record. 

This game got some national press, probably somewhat due to the shooting last weekend.  There were some highlight reel catches for both teams in the game that made it even more interesting.  The next day, Tim reported that they could only find one other 10-run walk-off win in the ninth, which occurred in 1901.  Even more shocking, instead of faking it, many of the fans in attendance admitted that they had left early, as I admitted to not listening.

8-19-19

Tim Hagerty had a delightful guest on tonight for today’s Chihuahuas game against the Fresno Grizzlies: Baseball Brit.  (It suddenly occurs to me that I didn’t bother to get his actual name.)  As the nickname would imply, he’s an Englishman that’s into baseball.  Really into baseball.  Right now, he’s travelling around the country with the intention of seeing 162 games this season and promoting the sport, major and minor leagues. 

That said, “Brit” was so charmingly full of British reserve and modesty, I wonder how he’s promoting himself.  Tim told listeners to search his nickname to find his Twitter feed.  “Oh, dear.  Please don’t.  Goodness knows what might come up.  I have a British friend who runs a much better baseball Twitter.  Go visit him.”  Brit seemed quite baffled by all the attention he’s garnered from various national media outlets.  The guy was so retiring, polite, and soft-spoken, I have to ask how he got on the air with Tim.  He was seriously not promoting himself. 

I unfortunately missed some of his backstory.  From what I gathered, Brit was introduced to baseball while working in Japan and South Korea and watching their games and collecting Japanese baseball cards.  He saw Shohei Ohtani playing in person in Japan.  He also got to watch quite a few MLB games.  They show a lot of games there with Kenta Maeda with the Dodgers and Shin-Soo Choo with the Rangers. 

Brit was at the Yankees/Red Sox London games and did some TV commentary.  Tim asked if he’d be working for ESPN again for next years’ games.  Brit insisted, “I have no job whatsoever.”  (He also off-handedly mentioned those two games were the highest attendance games for the MLB this year.)  Unprompted by Tim, he called Southwest University Park the best minor league park he’d been to.  Brit reiterated that on his Twitter feed later.  His feed also includes his first trip to an In-and-Out Burger while in California and a picture of a cactus when he drove through New Mexico.  Next, he’s off to visit, “The incredibly named ‘Sod Poodles,’” in Amarillo.

Tim held Baseball Brit over to talk to him for a full inning.  Tim was loving the conversation.  The game itself was a happy blowout for the Chihuahuas.  They won 9-1.  It was 1-0 Chihuahuas until a seven-run sixth inning.  I actually missed the barrage because I was listening to something else at the time.  Jacob Nix, on rehab, threw five scoreless innings in the win.  However, the Las Vegas Aviators came back in the ninth in their game to keep pace, so they’re still tied in the standings.  Lastly, the Griz featured a player named Chuck Taylor.  I wonder what kind of shoes he was wearing.

8-21-19

It was a game of numbers between the Chihuahuas and the Fresno Grizzlies tonight.  There were five plays at the plate tonight, including two force plays, all of them got the runner.  There were two bunt single attempts in a row for the Chihuahuas.  One worked; the next one didn’t.  The El Paso crowd booed that last one.  I’m not sure it was because the tying run for the Chihuahuas was called out at the plate, or if they were upset by the greedy ill-conceived bunt attempt in the first place.  There were seven errors.  Five of those were committed by the pups.  They didn’t deserve to win this one.

Fresno almost took a first inning lead, but their runner was thrown out at home.  This got the crowd into it.  In the bottom, there was a wind-aided homer by Aderlin Rodriguez to give the Chihuahuas the lead.  Swirling winds around the stadium made flyballs an adventure for most of the game.  There was even a light rain shower, but it didn’t stop play. 

By the seventh, the game was tied at three.  Another great defensive play lit up the fans, as Seth Mejias-Brean made a diving catch on a deflection by the pitcher.  But by the eighth, the Griz were up 7-4.  It was seeming a lot like last night’s loss, where Fresno scored a bunch runs in the ninth to break a tie and win it.  In the bottom of the eighth, the Chihuahuas got it to 7-6.  That’s where the two consecutive bunts came in with runners on base.

The Griz were up 8-6 in the ninth.  The pups weren’t done though.  An error put two runners in scoring position.  Estaban Quiroz tied it with a single.  Austin Allen then won it on a flyball single with the outfield playing in.  He had to be reminded that he still needed to touch first by the winning runner as he crossed the plate.  Chihuahuas win 9-8.  Unfortunately, the pups are still a game behind the Aviators in the standings. 

Okay, I hope to be back next week with some Aggie sports recaps. 

Baseball Journal August 2019 Part 1

I wish I hadn’t formatted July’s entries the way I did.  That was dumb.  I really didn’t intend to do any sports writing this summer.  At least I haven’t been writing about every game or sport I’ve been watching or listening to, so it’s been a bit of a break.  I’d never been so tired of writing as I was earlier this year after the Aggie sports season had ended.

Just as a sidebar, I’d like to backtrack and mention some tennis I saw in July on CBS.  It was called “Team Tennis.”  The teams were affiliated with various cities and there was a league.  They played five sets, but each set featured different players in different formats.  They played women’s doubles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles, women’s singles, and men’s singles.  The total number of game wins determined the match winner.  It was interesting.  The crowd there in Las Vegas seemed to be into it.  There were even cheerleaders.  I’ll give it another shot if I have the opportunity.  It’s good to see a sport not being too hamstrung by tradition to try something new.

 

8-1-19

I saw some of the O’s versus the Blue Jays on MLB.TV.  Obviously not much of a game in the matchup and not much of a game with an 11-2 Jays win.  However, there was the thrill of seeing Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all batting back-to-back at the top of the Jays’ lineup.  Let’s go Legacy Jays!

Also in the Eastern time zone, the Chihuahuas finished off taking two of three in Nashville.  The Sounds are the Rangers’ new Triple-A affiliate.  The “Condor,” Ronald Guzman, had been sent down there recently.  He had a pure frustration outburst after making an out in one of the games, but tonight he did hit a grand slam home run, though in a losing effort.

                                            

8-2-19

How about some Little League action?  Stadium was showing an international tournament in Branson all day today.  I was really impressed with the facility at Ballparks of America.  The field was a bit like a minor league park with seats and sunken dugouts.  I wonder if a Little League field has the same dimensions as a softball field.  Unlike college and professional parks, I think the PA was asking for foul balls back from the fans.  Unfamiliar with Little League rules, I didn’t realize they used ten-batter lineups.  (Is this why there’s a tenth batter slot on scorecards?)     

They were showing games played on the main field called “St. Louis.”  It’s a 2/3 size replica of Busch Stadium with an arch painted onto the artificial grass outfield.  How hard can it be to grow grass in Missouri?  Judging by the half-barren grassy knolls by the field, apparently it’s harder than you’d think.  There are four other fields named after cities at the complex, including a “Boston” field with a little Green Monster.  We assume the right field dimensions at the “New York” field are the same as Yankee Stadium, thus allowing popups to the outfield to fly right out, just like the big league.

I saw parts of two American regional games and two international games.  The last game had New Zealand versus Canada.  The announcers hyped up all afternoon that the Kiwi boys would be doing the “haka” war dance before the game, like their championship rugby team, the All-Blacks.  However, they didn’t actually show it when it came time for the game.  Annoyed, when I got to work, I searched for them on the Internet and found their Facebook page with a haka video.  It was an impressive performance (even surprising, because it was a bunch of white kids).  I’m sorry I didn’t get to see it live.     

Later in the evening, I heard the Chihuahuas versus Memphis Redbirds.  Actually, it was more like they were playing the Cardinals, the Redbirds’ MLB parent club.  Harrison Bader, Matt Carpenter, and Yadier Molina were in the lineup for the Redbirds.  They just missed playing against Marcel Ozuna as well.  Yadi got a big ovation for his first at bat and was big fan draw tonight.  Chihuahuas’ catcher, Austin Allen, from St. Louis, is a big fan of Yadi’s.  He was introduced to him by Chihuahuas’ coach, Edwin Rodriguez, before the game.  The coach had worked with Yadi years before.  It was Elvis Night in Memphis, so there were Elvis impersonators performing between innings.  This should be a fixture everywhere.

8-3-19

I want to mention that Aaron Sanchez was the starter in a combined no-hitter for the Astros on Saturday.  He was just traded to Astros from the Blue Jays.  In spite of his atrocious record this year, I’d seen him pitch a couple of weeks ago and had a feeling this move would do him good. 

8-4-19

Baseball did not work out so well for me today.  I had the opportunity to see all of the Padres versus the Dodgers.  I saw Eric Hosmer hit a grand slam home run and the Padres take a lead into the ninth.  Unfortunately, because the coverage started late, the Mexican station I was watching cut away to a local soccer match before the end.  The Padres would lose 11-10. 

The Chihuahuas were scheduled to play at the same time as the Rangers on the radio, but a three-hour rain delay in Memphis allowed me to hear both games.  While the Rangers beat the Tigers, the pups were one-hit in their game against the Redbirds and lost.  The ESPN Radio baseball game came on right after, which was a nice surprise and that game had also been delayed, so I could have listened to most it.  Unfortunately, it was the Red Sox versus the Yankees.  Worse, the Yankees went up 7-0 early and then the signal dropped for the night.

I had a little better luck with sports earlier.  NBC put USA Volleyball on TV.  It was an Olympic qualifier, and it was the girls and it was indoors, my favorite combination for volleyball.  Due to the previous match running over, they replayed the fifth set of yesterday’s match against Bulgaria and then showed today’s match against Argentina.  I was impressed with the matches’ handling of challenge calls.  There was a high-speed camera for touches at the net (regular cameras just show blurs on replay) and a tennis-like silhouette system for in/out calls.  

The US women are big, built, and tall.  The shortest, thinnest girl was their libero and she could have been a middle blocker for the Aggies.  Regrettably, for the most part, they weren’t winning any beauty contests.  Some of the girls on the other two teams, who were also quite impressively built, had more of my attention.  The US girls won the tournament and will be in the Olympics.  They unfurled and waved a big American flag for the big home court crowd in Louisiana.  That’s how to get on my good side.

I keep trying to give Leah Pritchett, NHRA Top Fuel drag racer, my adoration.  (I need a new sports crush, since Alex Morgan disappointed me so badly.)  For the last two weeks though, she’s been eliminated in the opening round.  That means no interviews, no honey shots, no nothing.  Even the announcers were very gently saying she needs to perform better, since she’s with a top team. 

But this event was still worth watching.  John Force has been sitting on 149 wins for a while.  Today, he made it to the finals and won it for win #150.  The larger-than-life racer was exuberant coming out of the cockpit.  He might have come out of something else as he kissed competitor Ron Capps on the mouth.  I’m sure Capps regretted coming over to congratulate him.  Force then gave an over-the-top speech, thanking everybody, and, in reference to finally getting this win, said, “I’m over this sh*t!”  He then took off on a scooter, went over to the stands, hopped a fence, fell down (I was afraid we’d lost him for a moment), and then ran into the grandstands to be with the fans.  What a guy!     

How I Spent My Summer Vacation July 2019 Part 8 Trade Deadline Edition

7-26-19

The Chihuahuas had a pair of back-to-back three-game series versus the Aviators, who were three games behind them in the standings, scheduled this week.  The pups took two of three in Las Vegas, including a 15-9 win in the finale on Thursday.  The next day in El Paso on Friday, the Chihuahuas went up 11-4 after three innings.  Then the wheels completely came off on their pitching.  They gave up 13 runs over the next four innings.  The Aviators surpassed a team record in home runs in the five-run seventh.  Their ninth home run of the game was their third of the inning.  Chihuahuas’ pitcher, Brad Wieck, took his hat off in frustration watching the third one fly out.  At least he didn’t slam it into the ground like Charlie Brown.  The team even provided some comedy as they attempted to vacate the field en mass after only the second out of the inning to give you an idea of how long the inning was.

In the eighth, the Aviators hit their tenth home run to tie a PCL record.  They set the new record in the ninth with their eleventh homer.  The pups had a position player pitching the inning, which led to some confusion in the bottom as they lost their DH with that move.  It took a couple of days for the league to sort out that the player had reentered the game to bat, but should have been taken out.  The game didn’t stop to figure it out as it finished 20-11 Aviators.  You’d think 11 runs would be enough to win any game.  The Chihuahuas have not played as well at home as they have on the road.  This even goes for their whole franchise existence for some reason. 

About the home runs, it’s the new MLB ball they’re using, but that’s not all.  It’s a change in hitting philosophy brought on by the shift.  You can hit to the opposite field or bunt to an undefended side, but you’re not playing to your strength as a batter, which is what the defense wants.  Hitting into the shift is probably an out with fielders positioned at likely landing spots.  Therefore, batters with any power are actively swinging for the fences because hitting the ball over the fence isn’t defensible.  This creates an uptick in strikeouts, but if it was going to be an out anyway, why not try to hit a homer?  It’s like the juiced ball was introduced to combat the shift. 

7-28-19

Horrifically, the Chihuahuas were swept in all three home games against the Aviators.  Their division lead is now down to one.  Much worse, they gave up a total of 20 home runs over the three games.  I think Tim Hagerty finally got worn out calling them by Sunday.  It was like every flyball went over the fence for them.  The pups’ pitching has officially crashed.  They almost got shutout on Sunday, so their offense is also exhausted.  I wonder what the Padres, basically out of the playoffs, will do with the Chihuahuas’ players for the rest of the season.  Call them up early?  Bring up reinforcements for them?

7-31-19

My fiftieth birthday was yesterday.  The harbinger of my impending degeneration and demise was at least softened by some considerate people.  My Aunt Judy sent me the above sports cards.  The people at work gave me something I always wanted: a pizza.  (I hadn’t had a pizza in a month.  I was happy to see those pepperonis.)  My folks gave me a baseball magazine and a couple other things to read.  On my own, I’d picked up a couple of comic books, which I may be reviewing in the future and a box of random old baseball cards (there were a few winners inside).  I looked, but didn’t find anything else at a couple of other stores.  I did turn up my nose at getting Sports Illustrated’s latest issue celebrating the US Women’s Soccer team.  Who needs them?  (They should have put Rose Lavelle on the cover, instead of Megan Rapinoe, if they’d wanted to sell more.)

As for the new MLB definitive trade deadline, the first big move sent Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays to the Mets.  What?  Are they holding him hostage to playoff teams?  Apparently not.  They kept him and their other highly-valued pitchers even though they’re not competitive.  Maybe next year.  The Giants kept Madison Bumgarner, since they are surprisingly competitive.  The second wild card position is giving quite a few teams some hope, especially given that most of the division winners may have already been decided. 

 

The Braves bolstered their bullpen by picking up closer Shane Greene from the Tigers, where he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities to save games.  I actually saw him pitch on the Youtube game versus the Angels on Monday.  The Cubs picked up Nick Castellanos from the Tigers.  He did well in that game and was interviewed in the postgame. 

There was a three-team trade that affected the Chihuahuas directly.  They lost pitcher, Logan Allen.  Just what the pups needed: less pitching.  Both him and thumper Franmil Reyes from the Padres went to the surging First Peoples, err Indians.  The Indians gave up one of their big game pitchers, Trevor Bauer, to get Yasiel Puig from the out-of-it Reds.  Right after Puig got traded, he was still in the dugout when the Reds and the Pirates ended up in big fight and he got involved in it.  I’m surprised the Reds’ GM didn’t rush on to the field and tackle him to keep him from potentially getting injured.

Bauer had thrown a fit on field when he was taken out of his last start.  He apologized immediately to Tito, who wasn’t pleased.  After he was traded, Bauer was photographed in the stands in Cleveland watching the game after cleaning out his locker.  I almost think he knew the trade was going to happen and he didn’t want to go.  In any case, this is a loser move for the Indians.  Trading pitching for offense is unlikely to pay off in the playoffs.  The Reds got Bauer, and the Padres got screwed just getting an outfielding prospect (albeit the Reds’ top prospect.)  

The big move was announced right after the deadline passed.  The D-Back’s Zack Greinke went to the Astros for four prospects.  This is a loser move as well.  Greinke wins games, but hasn’t made any of the teams he’s been on better.  In fact, they got better after he left them.  Maybe it’s a coincidence.  If he wants to prove me wrong by winning the World Series with the Astros, I’ll be happy to stand right up and apologize.  I’ll believe Grenike is a real winner and not just a trade piece mercenary when I see it.  The Astros also picked up Aaron Sanchez from the Blue Jays.  Hey, I saw Sanchez and Bauer pitch great games against each other last week.

It’s going to be a long August from some teams without the wavier trade deadline.  Teams will have to wait for the offseason for any more moves.  Meanwhile, the players are worried about the lack of free agency movement.  Teams waited until the last minute to make major deals last offseason.  I’ve noticed an uptick in trades for cash and international slot money.  The Grenike trade wouldn’t have even happened, but for the D-Backs kicking in $25M.

Teams are favoring prospects with several controllable years ahead of them with low salaries over overpriced mediocre veterans.  Some teams are “tanking” and dealing all high-priced players.  Even high-payroll teams, like the Dodgers and Yankees, didn’t make any moves at the deadline and don’t seem to be eager to sign big free agents.  The Player’s Union may be ready to strike, but I’m not sure how you force owners to spend more on their teams, even with a minimum roster salary.  The extra player that will be added to everyone’s rosters next year or adding the DH to the National League is unlikely to really create much of a rise in salaries.   

This brings up the issue of “Why aren’t owners spending more?”  Yes, team owners want to win, but they are uncharacteristically also trying to control salary costs.  The “luxury tax” has enough teeth to it to keep the big market teams from spending “stupid money.”  Unfortunately, the middle tier teams seemed mired as well.  The Astros gave up a lot of future pitching to get Grienke, but only because they’re trying to win while they’ve still got a great team, one which will likely be broken up by free agency soon.  The Rays are being as smart as they can be in a small market in fielding a good team, but most of the rest of the teams on their level seem hopeless, praying for years of good drafts to put decent talent in their hands. 

I have a theory, but nobody’s going to like it (especially not myself).  The owners are seeing declining in-person attendance (you can thank the tanking teams for some of that) and difficulties in getting a national audience for spotlight games as a bad omen.  While regional TV does well for some teams, it doesn’t grow the sport.  Meanwhile, even hard core fans, such as myself, are getting turned off by the current style of play.  Shifting, strikeouts, lots of pitching changes, home run derby, and overly long game times aren’t mine or apparently anybody else’s cup of tea for enjoyment.  I don’t think it’s some grand scheme by the owners against the union that is tamping down on salaries.  I think they’re seeing the future and they don’t like it. 

Given the analytics the owners keep on the players, you’d think they’d also be able to do a business forecast.  I don’t think they think the sport is going to get any bigger, so they’re going to get smaller in expenses to maintain their profits and keep the MLB going.  The question is: how hard are the players going to fight this?  Are they willing to fight it to the point where they strike, thus making it even harder to make the sport more popular and for them to get paid more?  Ever since I’ve had this dark notion, for the first time, I’ve been worried about the future of baseball.   

How I Spent My Summer Vacation July 2019 Part 7

7-16-19

Officially, the Chihuahuas played the Reno Aces once today, except they also played out the end of a suspended game from 4-15-19.  The Chihuahuas manager met with broadcaster, Tim Hagerty, to compare scorecards before the game.  Both team managers and the umpire also had a lengthy meeting to go over the rosters.  There’d been a large number of personnel changes since April.  Tim talked about how the rules handle this situation yesterday and during today’s pregame.  Annoyingly, both times, I was interrupted while listening, so I still don’t know how exactly it works.  Tim did say that there’s never been a suspended MLB game where a player has been on both teams because of a trade, but it has happened in the minors. 

In any case, the eleventh inning of the April game started about an hour and a half before the scheduled game.  There was a small crowd there for it.  The Aces’ catcher actually turned around and waved to crowd before the game.  The pups did win it 6-5, thanks to a timely hit by Jose Pirela, and a great catch in the bottom of the inning by Boog Powell.  Tim was pleased that the broadcast only took about a half hour total, but was apologetic that the station had had to cut short airing a town hall with the El Paso Locomotive soccer team.  I admit, the forum was actually kind of interesting.  It wasn’t like the suspended game resumption was a surprise.  I’d think they could have juggled things around a little to get the whole discussion in. 

About an hour later, the scheduled game came on.  The Chihuahuas lost 5-3, but that wasn’t the story.  Tim’s usual eating schedule had been disrupted by the suspended game.  Late in this game, he got hungry.  However, he came on the air out of commercial break complaining that he couldn’t buy M&M’s at the concessions.  They had a bunch of bags there, but wouldn’t sell them.  Tim only had 90 seconds during the break, so he didn’t argue.  He went back on the next break.  They still wouldn’t sell them to him, something about “taking inventory.”  “It’s a big crowd here tonight.  I don’t understand why the concessions aren’t selling to people with cash in hand,” said a bewildered and just barely able to contain his anger, Tim Hagerty.  If you’re doing something to make a very congenial broadcaster unhappy, you’re not running your ballpark well, Reno.

7-17-19

After the All-Star Break, the Chihuahuas have been stumbling.  They’ve lost 5 of 7 (including the suspended game above), and tonight they down 7-2 to the Aces with 1 out in the ninth.  What happened next defied belief as the pups scored 7 and shocked the Aces and the Reno crowd.  Unfortunately I wasn’t keeping notes, but suffice it to say that the Chihuahuas scored in just about every way possible, including a two-run error.  They won 9-7.  With their division lead dwindling over this slump, broadcaster Tim Hagerty conjectured that the team may look back on this game as a turning point in the season.

7-20-19

The Rangers, in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and playing themselves out the postseason, were losing badly in Houston to the Astros again this weekend.  What was notable about this game though was Eric Nadel’s rather giddy attitude.  Him and Matt Hicks were really loose and having fun with the radio broadcast.  Here’s where I really regret not taking notes during a game, so I could relate their entirely off-topic conversations.  In any case, listening to this game may have been the Ranger highlight of the season for me for pure entertainment value not involving actual play. 

7-23-19

I’d seen Youtube and the MLB advertising their upcoming joint broadcasts, but had forgotten about them.  I’d missed their first game last week, but caught their second streaming broadcast today.  The MLB has tried streaming over other Internet sources than their MLB.TV.  I’d watched games on Yahoo a couple of years ago.  Facebook and Twitter have shown games since.  I’m guessing none of these venues caught on.  They haven’t tried Twitch yet to my knowledge, though I have watched live sports on that site (some NM State Aggie games).

While those other streams were just showing team broadcasts, in this case, Youtube was actually producing it.  They had their own announcers and cameras there covering the game.  This was a legit national broadcast like ESPN or Fox.  I really enjoyed the commentating crew with Scott Braun, Cliff Floyd, and “The Mayor” Sean Casey.  They were very loose and having fun with it.  My favorite story was Casey talking about telling his first base coach that he was going to try and steal a base during a game.  The coach said he’d tackle him, “If you try it, I’ll get fired.  Stay put!”  They also mentioned Floyd’s excellent physique and bet him that he could still play.  “Tell that to my knees,” he replied.   

Even more intriguing, there were no commercial breaks during the game.  For the between innings breaks and pitching changes, they got reports from their lovely field reporter (I missed her name, sorry), ran some fun prerecorded segments with players (Eric Byrnes, who hosted those, what the hell are you doing with your hair?), and ran some interesting documentary material.  They also talked to both coaches in the dugouts and a player.  Talking with Terry Francona, they wished him luck at the end of the interview.  “Yeah, good luck to you guys too with Casey up there,” mic drop, walk away.  I have to say, this all made the game way more entertaining.  Has it been the commercials all along that made baseball seem “boring?”

The highest viewership I saw was 170k, which seems pretty good for an Indians . . . err . . . First Peoples/Blue Jays game.  The stream finished with 12k likes to 1k dislikes, so I think I’m not the only person who enjoyed it.  The chatroom was populated by an official MLB commenter, official team commentators, and some Youtube content creator baseball fans.  I would have liked to have tossed in a few comments, but it was invitation only.  That might not have been a bad idea given what I usually see in the comments of livestreams, but I’m sure regular fans would have liked a way to express themselves during the game.  A local Toronto Youtuber, who was a Jays fan and has a big channel, actually came on the air with the broadcasters for an inning.

As for the game, it was a tight affair.  Aaron Sanchez and Trevor Bauer started and pitched very well, but didn’t figure into the decision.  The Indians took a 1-0 lead into the ninth.  Justin Smoak homered to center to tie it.  Smoak then singled in the winning run in the tenth to win it for the Blue Jays, 2-1.  I kept having to stop the stream to do work (since I was at work).  There was a half hour long postgame scheduled, but most of it was cut off by the time I got around to watching it.  Maybe next time, though most of the rest of Youtube’s scheduled games seem to be day games.  I wish I still had a home connection, since I’ll bet Youtube’s steam would have worked better than the MLB.TV stream did for me.  (It kept dropping off.)  Overall, I was really impressed.  I hope this association continues.